mask

Well, gang, I think it's safe to say that the Holiday Season is upon us. And if your day went anything like mine, you were on the go all day long. So the last thing you have time for is a long, elaborate Photoshop project, particularly one that involves the sometimes mind-bending rigors of masking.

Which is why today, I offer you something special: a way to muscle your way through a mask---and a complex one at that---without contemplation, Calculations, or even consideration. All it takes is a few blunt tools, lots of brute force, and perseverance.

Here's the official description from my video publisher, lynda.com: Read more » 

If today's graphic looks like last week's, it because today builds on last week's theme. But the topic is fresh. Today, I show you how to construct rays of soft, blurry, and entirely fabricated light using none other than vector-based shape layers. In Photoshop. With the help of the Polygon tool and the Masks panel. And the Linear Dodge blend mode.

So much sweetness, so little time. Here's the official description from lynda.com: Read more » 

Today's free movie examines a masking technique. And for once, we won't be using the image to select itself. After all, this is a light bulb, with fragile, translucent edges and very little in the way of color or luminance to set it apart from its background. Happily, it's man-made (gender-neutral, could be woman-made, don't give a crap), so its edges are entirely geometric, as if created with a French curve, protractor, and abacus. By candlelight.

In such situations, your ally is the Paths panel. Most folks associate paths with the Pen tool. Which makes sense. You can draw paths with the Pen tool, but let's be honest: Even if you love the Pen, it has a sharp point that will, on a regular and unfailing basis, poke you in the butt. (Meaning that it's not always that fun to use.) The better solution: Trace your object with a few dozen ellipses, circles, and rectangles. After all, whether you're tracing an old-school light bulb or a new-school smart phone, ellipses, circles, and rectangles are what our wonderful world of glamorous gadgets are made from.

Here's the official description from lynda.com (which includes many more colons): Read more » 

Hey, gang. Today marks the second of my two-part work of hardscrabble investigative journalism into what makes Halloween so dag-gum scary, graphics-wise. Last week, I showed you how to make Scareflakes. (Wow, was that terrifying or what?) This week, I show you how to begin the process of turning the near-dead living into the living dead. It starts with a faux-HDR technique that relies on The Lab Mode. How's that for Halloween irony? Whatever, here's a before-and-after comparison, submitted for your approval:

I'd love to explore it with you in more detail, but the official description from lynda.com tells it all: Read more »